It’s very confusing. You see the placard at the pump that says this fuel “contains less than 10% ethanol.” You hear terms like “E10,” “E15” and “blender pumps” bandied about. You are told that this fuel is good for the environment on the one hand, but will ruin your bike and void your warranty on the other. What should you think? What should you do? I’m going to take some time to explain it all for you and clue you in on what you need to know. I’ll keep technical jargon and explanations to a minimum and I recommend checking my sources at the end if you want more information.
[Want to help? See the Important call to action at the end of this article!]
Let’s start with the numbers like “E10.” That simply means that the fuel contains 10% ethanol (ethyl alcohol distilled from grain), which also means it has 90% gasoline. Likewise, E15 has 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline, and so on. You will often see wording like, “contains up to 10% ethanol,” allowing for it to be a bit less. This is because when a different blend is put into the tank under the pump, there usually is some gasoline still in there. Therefore, the straight gasoline in the tank will cut down the on the overall percentage of ethanol after it dilutes the E10.
Damaging Your Bike and Voiding Your Warranty
For now, the common wisdom is that E10 is okay to use in your motorcycle. However with E15 and higher blends its use is damaging to you engine and it may void your manufacturer warranty. I decided to get out my owner’s manual and check what I could find in there for my 2015 Harley-Davidson FXDB. There are two things that are pertinent. The first is under “Exclusions.”
This limited warranty will not apply to any motorcycle…
Which has not been operated or maintained as specified in the owner’s manual.
Which has been abused, neglected, misused, improperly stored, used “off the highway,” or used for racing or competition of any kind.
Take those two pieces in bold and combine them with this under “Fuel,” subcategory “Gasoline Blends.”
ETHANOL fuel is a mixture of ethanol (grain alcohol) and unleaded gasoline and can have an impact on fuel mileage. Fuels with an ethanol content of up to 10 percent may be used in your motorcycle without affecting vehicle performance. U.S. EPA regulations currently indicate that fuels with 15 percent ethanol (E15) are restricted from use in motorcycles at the time of this publication. Some motorcycles are calibrated to operate with higher ethanol concentrations to meet the fuel standards in certain countries.
So I can see how it would void the warranty and I suppose that there is similar language in the warranty of most bikes. It tells me not to use E15 under “Fuel” and if I did, that could be construed as not operating the bike as stated in the owner’s manual.
But how does it damage your bike? The first thing to know about ethanol blends is that they burn at a much hotter temperature. With an air cooled engine this becomes a big deal. Increased heat means increased wear and even damage to internal parts like pistons, cylinders and crankshafts. There is also the issue that ethanol is a solvent and will break down many parts, seals and gaskets made with plastic and/or rubber. Finally, ethanol is corrosive to metal parts too. The potential for ethanol to wreck your engine over time is high. With the breaking down of rubber and plastic parts like fuel lines, you can find other problems as the fuel carries the dissolved impurities through your engine, like clogged fuel injectors and fuel filters. If that isn’t enough of a headache, ethanol also absorbs water. This water can separate out in your tank over time and form a thin layer of water in the bottom. This can cause further issues and damage.
Even if we could eliminate all of the above, ethanol still has one remaining issue. Ethanol blends get poorer mileage than straight gasoline.[1] The higher the ethanol content, the lower your mileage.
But it’s good for the environment, right?
Most people see the ethanol at the pumps and assume that it’s cleaner for the environment. I’m all for environmental issues but in the case of ethanol, we have been sold a bill of goods. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report in 2014 admitting that biofuels may be putting out greater pollutants into our environment in their production than they might be saving in our cars.[2] The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), an independent, non-profit and non-governmental research organization in Canada, released a report in 2013 in which it makes the case that the environmental benefits are nil. It even goes on to report,
“There is a body of research indicating biofuels have negative impacts on human toxicity, water depletion and can increase terrestrial eutrophication.”[3]
“Eutrophication” basically means the increase of phosphates and nitrates in the water.
Suddenly, ethanol doesn’t look so good for the environment. It is only going to get worse as we see even higher blends, like E20 and E30, are being discussed in government reports over the last few years.[4]
But why?
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 basically says that we will continue to increase the amount of biofuels, like ethanol, until we reach 36 billion gallons by the year 2022.[5] The EPA sets the yearly standard and last year (2015) it was set to 16.93 billion gallons and for 2016 it is set to 18.11 billion gallons. However, our use of gasoline is actually decreasing and there will be no other way to keep up with the higher required amounts than to go to E15 or even higher blends.[6] The Department of Agriculture is putting up a 100 million dollar matching grant program to fund the installation of blender pumps in 21 states to help facilitate the distribution of higher grades of ethanol. A blender pump (see picture below) would actually be able to mix an E15 for one car and an E85 for the next. (That’s right… E85)
If you want to know the real reason behind this; you must ask why the Dept. of Agriculture is involved? Because the more ethanol that is required by law to be put into our fuel, the greater the demand for corn and often as demand goes up, so does price. I recommend that everyone read this report by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank located in Washington DC. It’s called “Archer Daniels Midland: A Case Study In Corporate Welfare.” The sad thing is that with the falling price of gasoline, this strategy may have backfired on the corn industry. There is currently a lot of concern over the falling price of ethanol in the Corn Belt.[7]
How does this affect me and my bike?
It is currently illegal to fuel motorcycles, snowmobiles, boats, ATV’s and other small engines with anything higher than E10. It’s the government’s way of admitting that it will harm the engines. Blender pumps seem like a good solution until you really look at them. I was looking at a filler hose at a station the other day. The hose hung about 8-10 feet off of the ground and then returned back down to the pump. I estimated that there could be up to a half gallon in that hose between the pump and the nozzle. I’ve seen published estimates of up to a quart. So, if the guy before me filled with E15, even if I set the blend to E10, what is currently in the hose will enter my tank before the E10 starts to fill behind it.
Now that this has all been set in motion, the government has a solution. If you fill from a blender pump that provides both E10 and E15, you must purchase a minimum of four gallons. They say that that is enough to dilute the E15 in the hose.[8] My friend rides a Sportster; I guess he can’t fill at those stations because he can’t fit four gallons in his tank. What will be the minimum sale required if it is E25?
There is another issue. Who hasn’t put the wrong grade of gas in their tank by accident? I admit it; I’ve hit the wrong button before. However, filling with 89 octane instead of 92 will not damage my engine or void my warranty. Accidentally filling a bike with E15 or higher becomes a possibility that could be costly.
The big worry is that E10 will become a specialty product and very hard to find. If you run a classic panhead from the 1950’s, you may not be able to find the E0 (straight gasoline) you need as things are now. If stations are going to be required to carry E15, many may not have the resources or the room to install blender pumps (including installing more tanks in the ground) or have dedicated E10 pumps. And what will its scarcity do to the price of E10? What if the scarcity means that the closest E10 source to me is 40 miles away? I’d need to travel 80 miles round trip from home to fill my motorcycle tank.
What can I do?
Follow ABATE on Facebook. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/GardenStateABATE/) If there is a call to action, you can be sure it will be announced there.
You can follow us on Twitter (@GS_ABATE). This will also alert you when there is something you can be done to have your voice heard.
Participate in the call to action below.
Conclusion
While I’m convinced that money fueled (pardon the pun) this whole ethanol mess, I am also aware that we have created a taboo about talking negatively about it. Say anything against the growing use of ethanol and you are labeled as someone who doesn’t care for the planet like litterbugs or illegal toxic waste dumpers. I think there is enough evidence out there supporting the idea that this ethanol thing we have created is worse for the planet.
The IISD report I quoted above made the case that it would be far more effective if we just made it law that cars should be more fuel efficient. Japan did just that a few years ago requiring cars and light trucks to get 40 miles per gallon.[9] I think that my bike gets that. Maybe we should be embracing the green-ness of motorcycles and following suit, instead of passing legislation which will indirectly limit the use of these most fuel efficient of vehicles.
I’m not sure I like messing with our food supply either and the current course most definitely does affect our food supply. In the year 2000, over 90% of our corn crop went to feed people and livestock, many in starving nations of the world. With the growth of the ethanol market, in 2013 only 45% of the crop was used for food.[10] If the price of corn goes up, which seems to be the goal, will soy bean and wheat farmers switch to growing corn for biofuel? What will happen to the availability and cost of food made from those staples?
Stay tuned, as the story unfolds. There is hope here. Right now, H.R. 704, the RFS Reform Act of 2015 is being discussed and has the potential for ending, at least in part, this ethanol nightmare.[11] Go here and find your elected officials and tell them you support this bill.
Hopefully, you have read through everything and you are still with me. I have tried to keep it simple and just give you what you need to know, but the topic is large, complex and important. Pass along the word. Link to this article and help me educate others on this nightmare. Together, maybe we can change this.
Call to Action
(This is a different bill than the one mentioned in the conclusion above.)
Go here and find your congressman. (http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/)
Then copy and paste this letter, editing it to include YOUR congressman’s name. You may edit it if you wish. (Our version is a suggested text.)
Dear Congressman ________,
In March 2016 a bill was introduced in Congress that would provide grants for developing the infrastructure to deliver fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol.
The bill introduced by U.S. Rep David Loebsack (D-Iowa), called the Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion, and Leadership Act (H.R. 4673, otherwise known as the “REFUEL Act”) would provide federal grants for the purchase and installation of equipment (pumps, storage tanks, pipes, etc.) specifically for “dispensing fuel containing covered renewable or alternative energy.” This equipment would be key in expanding the availability of E15 fuel, a blend of gasoline that includes up to 15 percent ethanol.
As a life-long motorcyclist, I am opposed to the implementation of any fuel blend that contains anything higher than a 10% ethanol content without further research and testing by an independent laboratory on the long term effects of these blends on motorcycle engines.
To date, none of the motorcycles in use in the United States are certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to operate on fuel containing more than 10 percent ethanol, and use of E15 fuels in motorcycles may damage fuel systems and void manufacturers’ warranties.
Because this bill directly violates the Agricultural Act of 2014 (also known as the FARM Bill) that prohibited funding for special ethanol blender pumps, and because E15 fuels can damage motorcycles and void manufacturer warranties, I encourage you to oppose H.R. 4673.
Thank You,
[Your Name]
[1] Wilson, T. (2011, June 22). How Does Ethanol Impact Fuel Efficiency? Retrieved from http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a17240/how-does-ethanol-impact-fuel-efficiency/
[2] Conca, J. (2014, April 20). It’s Final — Corn Ethanol Is Of No Use. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/its-final-corn-ethanol-is-of-no-use/#1a609482ca26
[3] Charles, C., Gerasimchuk, I., Bridle, R., Moerenhout, T., et al. (2013). Biofuels—At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuel policies. Retrieved from International Institute for Sustainable Development website: http://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/biofuels_subsidies_eu_review.pdf
[4] U.S. Department of Energy. (2014, December 16). Alternative Fuels Data Center. Retrieved February 23, 2016, from www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/ethanol_blends.html
[5] Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (L. 110-140). (2007). Retrieved from U.S. Government Printing Office website: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-110hr6enr/pdf/BILLS-110hr6enr.pdf
[6] The American Motorcyclist Association. (2016, February). EPA raises ethanol standards, increases risks of unsafe fuels. American Motorcyclist, 70(2), 12.
[7] National Corn Growers Association. (n.d.). Corn, Ethanol and Food Prices. Retrieved February 23, 2016, from http://www.ncga.com/topics/ethanol/corn-ethanol-and-food-prices
[8] American Iron Magazine. (2012, August 7). MOTORCYCLE WARNING! Feds Mandate Minimum 4 Gallon Ethanol-Blend Purchase. American Iron Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.aimag.com/2012/08/motorcycle-warning-feds-mandate-minimum-4-gallon-ethanol-blend-purchase/
[9] Charles, C., Gerasimchuk, I., Bridle, R., Moerenhout, T., et al. (2013). Biofuels—At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuel policies. Retrieved from International Institute for Sustainable Development website: http://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/biofuels_subsidies_eu_review.pdf
[10] Ibid.
[11] The American Motorcyclist Association. (2016, February). EPA raises ethanol standards, increases risks of unsafe fuels. American Motorcyclist, 70(2), 12.
